SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Junior forward Miles Tracy led No. 19 IU South Bend with 23 points – reaching 1,000 for his career in the process – but the Titans were upset in the semifinal round of the CCAC Tournament by Lincoln, 67-64 on Friday night.
Tracy’s 23 points matches his career high and moves him up the all-time IUSB scoring list as the 22nd player in program history to reach 1,000 points. Dylan Allen finished with 11 as the only other player for the Titans (25-6) to finish in double figures. Donyell Meredith was closing in on a double-double, with 10 rebounds and eight points on the night.
The visiting Lynx (16-16) jumped out to an early lead, going up 10-2 by the 15:47 mark of the first half. Lincoln would remain in front, going up by as much as 12 before the Titans closed on a 9-1 run going into the halftime break. Tracy’s bucket evened the score at 27-27, and Micah Poole gave IUSB their first lead of the game on his layup with 41 seconds remaining, as the Titans went into the locker room leading 29-28.
Lincoln responded at the start of the second half, opening on a 9-2 run to reclaim the lead, 37-31. The Lynx matched their first-half lead of 12 points, 54-42 with 7:44 remaining, but the Titans would close the gap over the next three minutes, as Tracy scored 12 straight points for IUSB during a 12-2 run.
Both sides would trade baskets down the stretch, but a three-pointer from Lincoln with 33 seconds left pushed the visitors lead to 65-60. Tracy and Donyell Meredith each scored to close the gap again, but ran out of time on the comeback as a potential game-tying shot was off the mark in the final seconds.
Despite the loss, the Titans have earned an automatic bid to the 2022 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship, which tips off on Friday, March 11. IU South Bend will learn their Opening Round opponent during as the full bracket is revealed live on the NAIA Facebook page next Thursday, March 3 at 8:00 p.m.
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